Secret House of Lords circle 'shown to have worked with far right'

[muriel_volestrangler]

The organisation, called the New Issues Group (NIG), includes the former Ukip leader Malcolm Pearson and the Tory former deputy speaker of the House of Lords Baroness Cox.
...
Instead, she said, it was a “meeting of people who support the aims of my bill”, referring to a private member’s bill, first introduced in 2011, which aims to protect Muslim women in Britain from sharia law. “I have strong support from Muslim women,” she added.
...
One way the documents indicate that the group may have attempted to influence parliament was through writing questions to be asked in the Lords. Minutes of a November 2013 meeting indicate that Anne Marie Waters – who in 2016 set up the UK branch of the anti-Islam group Pegida with Tommy Robinson – “was asked if she would help draft a question for Caroline Cox to ask in the Lords”. Cox did not comment when asked about the apparent involvement of Waters.
...
Mulhall said NIG members were repeatedly reminded of the importance of complete secrecy, which explains why no details about its existence have emerged until now and why it has no digital footprint.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/25/secret-anti-islam-body-within-house-of-lords-worked-with-far-right

The group has formulated questions to be asked and run a series of events in the House of Lords, introduced private members bills, lobbied ministers and senior members of the clergy and provided support and guidance to anti-Muslim organisations. Most worrying, however, is that the documents we’ve received appear to show that the NIG has set up a series of charities and had a hand in the creation of a number of anti-Muslim and far-right organisations.
...
Perhaps the most troubling document acquired by HOPE not hate is a 2015 “Memorandum” created by NIG regular Magnus Nielsen, titled “Combatting Islam and the ‘Stealth-Jihad’”. The minutes of a meeting in September that year noted that Nielsen’s “memorandum was sent to all NIG members via email on 17 September. The document outlines a proposal to launch a street protest organisation, which would distribute literature to the public on the implications of Islamic teaching”.
...
While running as a UKIP candidate in 2014, Nielsen was widely criticised for saying “Islam is organised crime under religious camouflage” and that “Islam was created by a man called Muhammad who was a gang leader of criminals”.
...
The meeting minutes also show that regular NIG attendees include Dr Sean Oliver-Dee who, according to his profile on the University of Oxford website, where he is a Tutor in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, “was the Interreligious Advisor for the Church of England’s Diocese of Peterborough and was also worked for the Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the European Union as the Researcher on Inter-Religious issues”.

https://hopenothate.org.uk/2023/02/24/investigation-the-new-issues-group/

Lots more at Hope Not Hate. "Hearts of Oak" seems to be the vehicle they're using at the moment. "Tommy Robinson" is connected with them.